Joe Cole ready to rub salt into Arsenal wounds

Joe Cole is ready to show Arsenal what they’re missing, after finally finding his calling at Anfield.

Liverpool’s seismic summer signing believes that the new role he has been handed by his new club suits his talents perfectly.

And the England international midfielder reckons he can prove that against the Gunners in the biggest Premier League game of the weekend.

Cole turned down the chance to move to the Emirates to sign for the Reds in the summer, despite the fact that Arsenal offered him more money.

And he believes the stage is set for him to now show the best of his talents. After starring for Liverpool on his debut last week, he insisted:

“I loved my first time at Anfield, I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and I made a point of putting that in the memory bank, that was a special moment for me.

“I enjoyed it all, but mainly enjoyed playing in a central position. It has been seven years since I have played there regularly.

“I enjoy being in the middle of things by playing in the centre. I want that responsibility of defending and attacking, and I think it suits my attributes better.

I don’t have blistering pace so playing on the wing I have to be more clever, but in the middle I can find more space and do things from there.

“Playing in the middle, you are more of a playmaker. A lot of the time you are keeping the ball simple, and it’s about feeding the wingers and centre-forwards, and it’s about understanding the game.”

Cole is clearly relishing the prospect of the new-found responsibility handed to him by Hodgson, with the chance to make Liverpool tick in his new role.

He was left out of the England side in midweek, but he believes he can shine on a new stage with a fresh set of challenges.

That spells bad news for Arsenal, who wanted the creative midfielder in their own line up for the mouth-watering match of the weekend as the Premier League gets underway once more.

He feels he now has the perfect platform to show exactly what he can do, after several years of frustration at Stamford Bridge...especially with a certain inspirational England skipper alongside him.

“There’s a lot for me and Steven Gerrard to work on, but we did some good things in our first game together, it was a great experience,” Cole said.

“Good players can always play well with anyone, and for me Stevie is the number one. We could thrive.”

While Cole seems suitably inspired by his headline grabbing summer move, he yesterday tried to add a note of caution to the optimism that has gripped Anfield since his arrival.

While he has great faith in his new team-mates, he believes that Arsenal present a massive challenge as the season gets underway.

“Pre-season has been a rush for me, but it’s like that for most of the players that have played in the World Cup. But we’ll be ready, and we’ll be fighting for those three points against Arsenal,” he said.

“I’m happy to be at Liverpool. Arsenal is a tough game for anybody, especially so early on in the season because they have such young players. The young players tend to get fitter and sharper quicker.

“It’s going to be a very tough game. In fact, I think it’s the toughest game we could have had to start the season. We have to thrive on that challenge, and I’m looking forward to being part of this great team.”